Haunted
by LoveWasOurs
Summary: Linnea Larsson, a student at Sweet Amoris, has a way of getting along with everyone she meets. She and her friends are invited to a camping trip sponsored by a mysterious company. Stranded in the middle of a forest, the ten of them completely alone, they begin to disappear, one by one.
1. Friends

"The clouds are awfully pretty today!"

She lifted a slender finger and pointed up at the sky. They were rainbow smudges of paint against the gray sky; purple, yellow, silver, red, black, and brown. The blades of grass brushed against her cheeks and her shoulder-length blonde hair was sprawled out in the grass on either side of her ears. Her big sky blue eyes were coated in dancing sparkles as she gazed in awe at the sky's many gradients. Her full, pink lips were parted slightly, ready to gush.

Suddenly, she couldn't recall who was lying beside her. She forcefully broke her gaze from the sky and slowly turned to face the person. Shark teeth jutted out from their upper lip and their eyes glowed a blood red. Their mouth foamed like a rabid animal and their fingers were long and ended in a sharp-looking point. She opened her mouth to scream but it was as if someone had removed her vocal cords. She attempted to scramble to her feet when the thing grabbed her neck with it's long fingers and pulled her close until she could feel it's cold breath on her ear.

"Linnea," it told her, "I'm going to get you."

"Linn! Wake up!"

Linnea jerked awake at the sound of her mother's voice invading her dreams. She felt so relieved she could hug her; but she settled with sitting up and gazing around. "What time is it?" she mumbled, her voice dripping fatigue.

"It's already seven thirty! You're going to be late!"

Linnea gasped, jumping to her feet and rushing to her closet. She slipped into an oversized knit sweater and skinny jeans, virtually jumping into some sneakers. She combed her hair and applied some mascara and was out the door before her mother could tell her another word. She jogged to school, panting upon her arrival but relieved when she heard the warning bell; she still had a minute to get to class, which was plenty of time. Her pace slowed to a walk and she finally caught her breath at the front doors of the school, pushing them open.

"Get to class, little girl," a familiar voice teased from across the hall, "You're gonna be late."

Castiel was leaned against his locker amongst the mingling crowds of people who were slowly dispersing to go to their classes and she chuckled, shaking her head. "Look who's talking, _little boy_," she jokingly called back. Her shoulder bumped someone else's as she passed and she stumbled back, her mouth giving a quick apology until she realized who it was. Amber greeted her with a flip of her glossy blonde hair, her usual crew trailing behind her. She gave her a grin. "Hey, Amber. Are we still on for Saturday?"

Amber smiled and nodded. "Don't forget like last time. I will end you."

Linnea laughed and nodded. "I'll try." She waved at Armin and Alexy as she passed them, giving them a smile, which they both returned, before she stepped in her class just as the bell rang.

"Oh, Linn," the teacher sighed, "If you walked just a step slower, I'd have to write you a detention slip."

Linnea grinned. "I didn't though so you don't have to." She scampered to her seat between Violette and Nathaniel before the teacher could get angry with her.

She nudged Nathaniel, giving him a hopeful smile and he sighed, shaking his head as he discretely passed her his homework. "You're going to bomb this test coming up," he whispered.

She gave him a smile. "No, I won't because yours will be right there in the open for me to... observe." He rolled his eyes and she giggled. "Have I ever told you how much I _appreciate_the _help_ you've given me this semester?"

He sighed again, looking away and Linnea felt a tap from her other side. Violette had a hurt look on her face as she whispered, "You never showed up this morning."

Linnea gave her a smile. "I'm sorry; I slept in. I'll make up for it after school." Violette looked away, her expression still hurt and Linnea tapped her shoulder, giving her a smile. "You're my best friend, Violette. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, okay?"

"Linnea Larsson," the teacher sighed, "You're always making so much noise back there. Should I move you?"

Linnea shook her head quickly, giving him a charismatic smile. "No, sir. This is the perfect seat for me."

The teacher was growing irritated and he opened his mouth to speak again but was interrupted by the door opening and a stranger with a visitor's pass ID stuck to his shirt approached the teacher. The teacher furrowed his brow. "Do you need something?" The stranger handed him a sheet of paper before rushing out of the room. The teacher gazed at the paper in confusion. "Alright, then, Nathaniel, Violette, and Linnea are wanted in the Principal's office."

The three of them gathered their things before quietly leaving the room, Nathaniel only speaking when the door closed. "I can't think of anything the Principal could want that involves you _and_ me."

Linnea lifted her chin, smiling. "Yeah, I know, right? I mean I'm a smart, well-behaved, honor student and you're... you." He furrowed his brow at her and she giggled, indicating she was joking and he couldn't help but chuckle. They arrived at the Principal's office where they found Castiel, Rosalya, Alexy, Lysander, and Kentin. "Hey," she grinned at them, "the gang's all here."

"Not quite," the Principal interrupted, "Have a seat, you three. We're waiting on two more people." As if on cue, Armin and Peggy entered and both seemed puzzled at the big group of people. Once everyone was seated, she began speaking. "Okay, I've received a message from a corporation that wants to sponsor a school field trip. They've given me a list of names from the junior class and this field trip was only awarded to those characters who have good grades, are well-behaved, and show leadership skills."

"Good grades?" Armin chuckled.

Linnea laughed and pointed to herself. "I have all of those things. I told you, Nathaniel." He seemed utterly confused, gazing at Castiel across the room, who was returning his glare with a smirk. Linnea laughed again, nudging Violette. "This is hilarious."

"Excuse me," Rosalya chimed in, seeming just as amused as everyone else, "I'm not sure any of the people in here fit the criteria, except maybe Nathaniel on occasion."

Linnea was throwing her head back in laughter at the offended expression on Nathaniel's face when the Principal sighed. "Settle down, all of you. I didn't make this list so don't question it. If I made the list, you'd all be goofing off in your classes instead of in my office. It's a camping trip."

"We did an orienteering race in the woods not too long ago," Rosalya pointed out, "Wasn't that enough?"

The Principal was growing irritated. "I'm not the one who organized this trip. It's completely optional. If you would like to go, we'll meet in the court yard on Friday. Bring a week's worth of supplies and clothes, but pack lightly; you don't want to have to find somewhere to put ten huge bags. Tents will be supplied but you'll have to bring your own sleeping bags."

"Tents?" Linnea gasped, "I thought we would be sleeping in a cabin or something. Where would we shower? Or use the bathroom?"

"Your camp site will be near recently built, regularly cleaned facilities," she explained, "There is also a cafeteria where you can buy food at any time in the day or night. Bring money for food. It's a popular camp ground so be cautious and prepared when using the bathrooms or going to the cafeteria. Always travel in groups. There are five tents so you may group into twos, assuming you all decide you want to go. If you don't want to go, let me know now."

Linnea grinned. "That sounds like fun!" She linked her arm into Violette's. "Let's both go, Violette. We can share a tent!"

Violette gave her a warm smile, nodding once.

"Alright, that makes two," the Principal noted, "Anyone else?"

"I'll go," Lysander spoke up.

"Me too," Alexy grinned, "I'm on the same page as Linn."

"I guess I'll go too," Armin added.

There was a silence and Nathaniel sighed. "I'll go."

The Principal nodded. "Actually, I was going to make you go regardless. Someone has to keep an eye on these hooligans."

Linnea giggled, her gaze running over everyone and lingering on each person who hadn't spoken up yet. "You should come, Rosalya. It'll be more fun with you."

Rosalya shook her head. "I don't think I will. It doesn't sound too appealing to me."

She then eyed Peggy, sitting beside Rosalya, with puppy dog eyes and Peggy rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll go."

Linnea grinned and Castiel spoke up, "I guess I'll go."

Linnea's gaze fell on Kentin, who was already uncomfortable being eyed by Armin and Alexy. When his gaze met Linnea's, he gave an exasperated sigh. "I'll go, just stop staring at me like that."

Linnea, Armin, and Alexy all exchanged a glance and mutually chuckled. The Principal crossed her arms, gazing up at Rosalya. "That's nine. There is an uneven number of females in the group. Are you sure you don't want to go?"

Everyone in the group turned their gazes to Rosalya, and she crossed her arms, an unyielding expression on her face. It seemed that way, at least, until her expression began to waiver and her arms began to loosen. "Fine, I'll go! But if my clothes get even _one_ spec of dirt on them, you all lose your heads."

Linnea giggled, clapped her hands together once. "Yay, we're all going! This is going to be so much fun."


	2. Violette

The sun rays reached in through the window, grasping the right side of Violette's face, bringing out the lavender orbs of her eyes, the right side of her hair appearing to have a glossy coat. Somehow, she always managed to keep her ice cream from dripping on to her hand; Linnea could never understand it. Linnea rarely ate ice cream, although she loved it, and when she did her hands always ended up sticky. She couldn't even remember when she last caught Violette with sticky hands; that was saying something, considering she and Violette had been close since kindergarten. Linnea could recall the first time she and Violette had ice cream together when they were still only in first grade. She was amazed at how Violette's hands were still soft and smooth, while her own were dripping ice cream.

Linnea jingled her knee, cupping her cheek in her palm and setting her elbow on the table of the booth they sat in, watching her friend lick the ice cream that she had covered to make up for sleeping in in the morning. "How come you slept in?" Violette asked between licks.

Linnea smiled sheepishly. "I was reading and the time got away from me."

Violette smiled. "That's so like you. At least it was something mildly productive."

Linnea tapped her chin. "I didn't do my homework though." She grinned. "Thank goodness for Nathaniel."

Violette chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Again, that's so like you." She turned towards the window and her face glowed in the bright sunlight. "Are you excited for the field trip?"

Linnea nodded, grinning. "Oh yeah! I don't think I'll be able to sleep Thursday night. After we finish hanging out I'm gonna go start packing my things."

"The first time you've ever done something without procrastinating," Violette teased, "I have to admit, I'm a little excited too."

Linnea nodded, giving her a smile. "It'll be like a week-long sleepover!"

Violette agreed, finishing up her ice cream. "I wonder what kinds of things we'll be able to do."

Linnea clapped her hands together once, smiling as she imagined the fun things the lot of them could do. "We could have a bon fire and tell scary stories! We could take Rosalya deep into the woods and scare her! We could swap Armin's food with a box of worms!"

Violette raised her brow, giggling. "You live to scare people. I'm just glad I'm never the one on the other end."

Linnea nodded, gently and playfully kicking her under the table. "You should appreciate that!" She gazed up, thoughtfully. "I can't wait to go. I have a feeling this is going to be a really fun trip. I'm glad we're going with a big group of friends."

Violette agreed, cocking her head to one side. "It would have been weird with strangers."

Linnea giggled at her expression. "I would never pass up the opportunity to make new friends."

"Isn't it kind of weird though?" Violette mused, "Isn't it a little too ironic that out of the entire junior class, a group of people who know each other and are, for the most part, friendly with each other got chosen?"

Linnea shrugged. "Don't overthink it, just be grateful. I wish I could thank this anonymous corporation."

Violette nodded. "I guess you're right."

The next few days inched by, but, much to Linnea's pleasure, it finally arrived. The bus took them outside of town to a forest she'd never seen before. Before boarding the bus, the principal gave each of them a map to lead them to their campsite and the cafeteria and bathrooms, along with schedules. Of course, the schedules were optional; she'd never find out if they didn't actually use them.

The trees were sky scrapers, their massive branches reaching towards the sky, as if attempting an escape from the earth. The leaves were a lush, deep green at this time in the year and wove together above their heads, providing a shelter from the harsh sunlight, although the day light was still visible through the small gaps in the leaves. The grass beneath their feet was in patches scattered about in the path they walked, composed mostly of compacted, arid dirt, as if people walked over it all the time. The sky had been a clear, bright blue since the morning and they weren't worried about rain.

The trees broke into a clearing, where they found five green tents already assembled in a circle around what could be a fire pit. She grasped Violette's hand, pulling her into a tent and setting down her bags, but retrieving her map and her wallet. "Man, am I starved! Let's go get something to eat."

Violette set her bags down as well, beginning to lay out her sleeping bag. "I'm not all that hungry. I ate breakfast."

Linnea pouted. "Well you don't have to brag about it." She crawled out of the tent before peering back in. "Okay, I'll go find someone to go get food with me. If you get hungry, come find me." She gave her a smile, which Violette warmly returned before getting to her feet and gazing around. Everyone was in their tents, partnering up and preparing their sleeping bags and whatnot. The only two left out were Rosalya and Lysander, who stood near the fire pit, chatting away. Well Rosalya was the one doing all the chatting; Lysander was only nodding occasionally, although he appeared to be listening. Linnea skipped over to them, giving them both a smile. "Why aren't you guys partnering up or getting your tents ready?"

"I don't want to get it ready now," Rosalya answered, "I'm already partnered up with Peggy. I'm not going to change my clothes in front of a boy; even if I didn't have a boyfriend."

"I'm partnered with Castiel," Lysander added.

Linnea nodded. "I'm partnered with Violette, and she ate breakfast this morning. You guys want to go to the cafeteria? I'd go by myself but the principal said that's a bad idea."

"I was just getting hungry, actually," Rosalya smiled, "I'll go with you."

Lysander nodded. "I'll go too."

Linnea grinned. "Great! Let's go." She walked between Rosalya and Lysander, a smile on her face as they walked on the path the map read. "I hope the food here is good. I don't want to have to eat slop for the next week."

Rosalya snorted. "Anything is better than the stuff they serve at school. Sometimes I wonder if they use meat or dirt."

Linnea giggled. "Agreed! But have you ever tasted Melody's cupcakes? I swear she cooks them with fairy dust and magic. They're heavenly!"

Rosalya nodded. "Oh, yeah! She brought them to school once for someone's birthday. They were brilliant!"

The cafeteria building grew visible between the trees. It was modeled like a cabin, with the appearance of being made entirely from wood. It was large and had big, gaping windows along the walls. The doors creaked open and the three of them paused, gazing around. There were probably a hundred empty tables and not a person in sight. The food seemed to come from heated vending machines all along the walls rather than being served fresh by a person.

"Isn't it supposed to be popular and full of people?" Rosalya muttered, gazing around at the vacant cafeteria.

Linnea shrugged. "Who cares? More room for us!" She skipped over to a machine offering macaroni and cheese, buying one and taking it out. It was warm and had a fork attached to it. She bought a drink before meeting Lysander and Rosalya at a table. She opened it up and took a bite, the flavor filling her mouth and she couldn't help but moan in utter bliss. "This is Melody's cupcakes in mac n' cheese form!"

Rosalya chuckled. "This is way better than I thought it'd be. I guess this camp has a higher budget than the school does."

Linnea nodded. "I wish Violette would've come! Mac n' cheese is her favorite."

They mingled as they ate, and all felt content once they finished. They continued to chat on the way back, Linnea appreciating the beauty of the forest until they arrived at their campsite. Linnea peeled away from Rosalya and Lysander and to her tent, kneeling down and peering in.

"Violette, I'm back!" she announced but cocked her head to one side upon realizing that the tent was vacant. She exited the tent again and gazed around. Armin and Alexy were seated by the dry fire pit, teasing Kentin, as usual, and Linnea approached them. "Have you guys seen Violette?"

Armin shook his head. "Earlier I saw her peak out of the tent but I didn't see her leave it. Is she not in there?" Linnea shook her head. "That's really strange. I haven't seen or heard anything from her."

Linnea furrowed her brow, examining all of her surroundings. In her head, she counted her classmates, since they all seemed to be visible and mingling. One, two, three... Where could Violette be hiding? She knew not to go off on her own. Perhaps she had gone to the rest room, but Peggy was the only one who would've been available for her to take with her, and Peggy was leaning against a tree and chatting with Castiel. ...Seven, eight, nine. Including herself, she only counted nine students.

"Hey, guys," Linnea announced, catching the attention of all of her classmates, "Where is Violette?"


	3. Alexandria Larsson

"Daddy," she whined, her voice high pitched and squeaky, "why are you looking at me like that?"

Her father scrutinized her, his eyes full of contempt. He knelt down, taking hold of her chin in between his thumb and forefinger, a bit too roughly. She whimpered as his eyes became full of hate. "You should've never been born." His words hurt, but not nearly as much as the next ones would. "Today is the day you die, Alex. This is what they want me to do. This is what they asked of me."

She took a step away from him, her blue eyes fearful. "But I love you, daddy. Mommy said she loves you too and so does Linn. Why do you love them but not me?"

He lifted his chin as he gazed at her, his hateful eyes hard on her. "They told me that you go first. They told me that Linn is next." His eyes became black and his skin turned a shade of green. "I must obey them," his voice became raspy and deep, "Their word is law."

The conversation ended with a piercing scream and silence.

"Violette!"

Linnea's voice echoed in the apparently vacant bathroom, followed by Rosalya's. They had been wandering around to every corner of the restroom, bellowing her name but they received no response. Linnea felt nervousness clench her heart and her chest felt tight as she darted back and forth in search of her friend. She met Rosalya at the entrance to the bathroom and they hurried back to camp, where everyone was searching the area surrounding the camp or just returning from a search. Armin and Nathaniel were just returning to camp, both of them appearing uneasy and Linnea rushed over to them.

"Has anyone seen anything?" she asked, her voice breathy with panic, "She wasn't in the bathroom."

Nathaniel shook his head but Armin seemed unsure. "We saw someone but it wasn't Violette." Linnea gazed at him in confusion. "Well, we saw a girl. She was about our age and at first glance I thought she was you; she looked kind of like you." Linnea furrowed her brow. "She had a little girl dress on, though, and an open wound on her forehead." Linnea gazed at him with wide eyes and he continued. "We called after her but she didn't answer, she just stared at us and then ran away."

Linnea began feeling a bit lightheaded, taking a step back to breathe. How could Armin know about that? "You were probably just seeing things," she concluded, pushing past them and jogging into the forest.

She could hear footsteps behind her and turned to see Rosalya, struggling to keep up. "Don't just run off into the forest by yourself," Rosalya snapped, "I know you're worried about her but going alone into the forest isn't a good idea if there's a kidnapper around here." Linnea turned left and right, feeling her breath get away from her and Rosalya grasped her wrist. "Let's go back to the camp, Linn. I think you could try to relax a little. The sun's going down, the temperature's dropping. I told Nathaniel and Armin to pick you up some hot chocolate from the cafeteria and the others are starting a fire in the fire pit. We can look for Violette again tomorrow when it's lighter outside." Linnea wouldn't budge, gazing at her feet with tears beginning to fill her eyes and Rosalya gave her wrist a gentle tug. "We'll find her, Linn. We have a whole week."

Linnea shook her head. "We have all the time in the world because if the week ends and I still haven't found her, I'm not going to leave until I find her. She's my _best friend_ and if I leave without her, you can assume I'm possessed."

Rosalya nodded slowly. "I understand, Linn. We _do_ have all the time in the world. That's why we can look for her tomorrow. Everyone has already checked everywhere around our camp site and nobody has seen her. We can go back to camp and rest."

Linnea relaxed a bit and Rosalya began leading her back to the campsite, where Castiel, Kentin, and Peggy were all fanning the fire to make it bigger. Rosalya led Linnea to one of the big logs beside the fire and she helped her sit before rushing to her tent and returning with a big, furry blanket and putting it over Linnea's shoulders. She sat beside her when the three fanning the fire finished and sat down at the other three logs, Lysander and Alexy joining.

Linnea's eyes burned a bit from the smoke but the warmth of the fire and the blanket felt good and she found comfort in the silence; listening to the crackling fire felt calming. She stared at the bright flames until they were all she could see as the sky grew darker and a cold wind brushed past, tugging at her hair and giving her a chill before it whistled through the trees, rattling all the branches. Her surroundings felt so peaceful that it startled her when Armin shoved a Styrofoam coffee cup with a plastic top in her face from behind and he sat at her other side, Nathaniel having a seat across the fire, beside Alexy.

Linnea held the warm cup in her chilled hands, catching a whiff of the hot chocolate and the scent gave her warmth and memories. She had hot chocolate with Violette on the night of her birthday, back in early December. That day, they had planned to go to the zoo and then to a lights show downtown in the evening but an unexpected blizzard hit and they were trapped indoors for three days. School was cancelled and everything. Although they couldn't leave her home, Linnea still enjoyed the time spent with Violette. They baked various pastries and sweets together those days and she had no idea what they even talked about but somehow, she always ended up leaning against a wall in laughter, tears in her eyes. She loved all of her friends, but none of them ever made her laugh the way Violette did. Violette knew her better than anyone else; she knew every secret, every emotion, every flaw. Linnea had trouble in terms of being able to predict what Violette was feeling or thinking but Violette always knew.

"So," Armin broke the silence, dragging Linnea out of her thoughts, "talk to me, Linn. I've never seen you so quiet before." Linnea responded to him with silence, fiddling with the tab that was inserted into the drinking hole of the cap to prevent splashing. "Tell me about the girl with the dress. I know you know something."

Linnea shook her head slowly. "I don't know anything. Maybe it was a ghost." She gave him a sideways glance and he appeared to be giving up on talking to her and she sighed. "I had a sister once. My dad... ended her life. He kept saying _'__they told me to, they told me to'_ in the court room. They sent him to a doctor instead of prison because they believed he was mentally ill. They diagnosed him with schizophrenia but it didn't feel right. It felt too real. I saw the whole thing. She had on her favorite dress and I was seven and she was six. My mother was asleep when it happened. He took out a knife and... he got her right in the forehead." She felt Armin tense beside her. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

He shook his head. "There's no way that was a ghost. You're just trying to scare me, aren't you? That's the Linn I know!"

Linnea knew it wasn't a joke to try and scare him, but it seemed to cheer him up so she didn't tell him. Her father had passed by now; she wasn't sure how or why but she knew she had been too frightened of him after the incident to ever visit him again. Her mother never pressured her to pretend to love him because she could understand a seven year old girl being traumatized by such a gruesome incident. She sipped her hot chocolate and felt the warmth of the liquid run through her body and she sat up straight to embrace the feeling when she heard a crumple in her pocket. She reached a finger in and withdrew a folded up piece of paper and, when she unfolded it, she realized it was the schedule the principal had given them.

If she recalled correctly, the principal said it was a recommendation by the anonymous corporation who had sponsored the field trip to begin with. Linnea furrowed her brow, examining it. Each line was a different hour and didn't take more than a line for any hour. She mentally humored herself by noting that the first word in the first line and the first in the second line read, _"__Found in"_. Her humor disappeared when she realized the first word in each line made a sentence. _"__Found in a chest five steps left of AE."_ She sipped her hot chocolate, wondering what in the world AE meant. Was this a message? Perhaps they'd planned this. AE on the schedule looked disguised as the initials of the corporation, but if they wanted to remain anonymous, that would be unnecessary.

"Hey, guys, look at this," she broke the silence and everyone seemed surprised by her voice, Armin and Rosalya leaning in from either side of her, "If you look at the first line of each hour, it says 'Found in a chest five steps left of AE'." Most of them began withdrawing their schedules from their pockets, the others leaning over to see another person's schedule. "I wonder if they planned this and they wanted to make this into some game or something."

Rosalya snorted. "They have a disgusting sense of humor, then. Do you think they're talking about Violette?"

Linnea shrugged. "I really hope they wouldn't put Violette in a chest, even though I do want to see her again; not like that." She finished up her hot chocolate and nibbled on her thumb. "Tomorrow morning, we can search for whatever AE is and try to figure this out."

Rosalya nodded, getting to her feet, giving Linnea a smile. "For now, let's all go get dinner. We'll go altogether since I don't think anyone's eaten since noon." Linnea nodded before she felt a sudden ache in her stomach and she wrapped her arms around herself, whimpering. "What's wrong?" Rosalya asked, kneeling down and touching Linnea's shoulder.

Linnea smiled sheepishly, tapping her chin. "So, uh, the hot chocolate was great but... did I mention I'm lactose intolerant?"


	4. Together Forever

Linnea awoke early in the morning with a throbbing head ache and she turned on her side facing Violette's prepared sleeping bag and she reached over, fingering the zipper. "Don't worry, Violette," she murmured, "We'll find you soon. I promise." She gave her imaginary Violette a hopeful smile before climbing out of her sleeping bag and peering outside. Nathaniel and Alexy were already awake, chatting by the fire pit, where the fire had been the night before. She gathered a bag of her necessities and crawled out of the tent, approaching the two boys. "Seems like we're the only morning people here, huh?" she smiled. "Do either of you want to walk with me to the bathrooms? I have things to do but I can't go by myself."

Nathaniel nodded. "All three of us should go. That way, it'll be safer."

"Yeah," Alexy agreed, "I think we should do that."

"Okay," Linnea answered. The two boys got to their feet and Linnea led the way to the bathroom. They were surprisingly quiet; they probably didn't want to force her to talk if she didn't want to. Now, she felt better, however; she was eager to get Violette back and she would stop at nothing to do so. The forest was quiet, aside from the occasional rustle in the trees up above with each passing gust of wind. The rest rooms building finally came into sight. It didn't fit the scenery; surrounded by trees, the grey brick building stood out and looked more like a prison. However, the inside was clean and cozy and not even the stall doors squeaked. The boys stood outside of the doorway, giving her enough space to walk through and she gazed at them curiously. "You're going to wait?"

Alexy chuckled. "Of course! What would be the point in walking you here if we weren't going to walk you back?"

He gave her a warm smile and she giggled. "Thanks, guys. I'll try to be quick."

Linnea hopped in the shower as quickly as she could. The water ran smoothly and everything was sparkly and white, including the opaque shower curtain that hung behind her. The restrooms were vacant, however, apart from her, and the only noise outside the shower was Nathaniel and Alexy chatting outside. She finished up quickly and put on her clothes and stood in front of the mirror, running a comb through her wet hair before kneeling down and returning her things to the bag.

Upon standing back up and returning her gaze to the mirror, she realized something; the mirror looked different. Linnea stumbled back against the wall, her eyes wide. _'__You're next'_ it read in what looked and leaked like blood. She screamed as loudly as she could, sliding down the wall and squeezing her eyes shut. Nathaniel and Alexy rushed in and to her aid, kneeling down on either side of her. "Are you okay?" Nathaniel asked, grasping her wrist.

Alexy touched her shoulder, his eyes shocked and his expression worried. "What's wrong, Linn?"

Linnea panted to catch her breath, her blurry vision clearing and she lifted her gaze to the mirror to see that it was clean. She lifted a shaky finger to the mirror. "Just a minute ago, it said 'you're next' in blood! I swear it did!"

Both of them glanced over at the clean mirror before gazing at her worriedly. "Linn," Nathaniel broke the silence, "Did you sleep well last night?" She gazed at him wide eyed and he gave her a warm smile. "Sometimes if you're sleep deprived, you can hallucinate."

She wasn't sleep deprived. In fact, the night before, considering how anxious she was over losing Violette, the successful night of sleep she'd had was surprising. However, she figured that letting them think she'd lost a night of sleep over losing her best friend was better than letting them think she was crazy. She nodded slowly. "I... I guess you're right."

Alexy smiled. "Now that you're ready, let's get back to camp."

Nathaniel helped Linnea to her feet and the three of them walked back to camp in silence. When they arrived, everyone seemed to be awake already, including Rosalya, who bounced over to Linnea. "Let's get going!" she insisted, taking one of Linnea's wrists and leading her to the center of camp. She touched her chin. "Hm... we'll need some brains. Nathaniel, get over here! Who else should we bring?"

Linnea shrugged. "Anybody. We just need another pair of eyes."

Rosalya nodded. "Castiel!" The two boys met with them in the center, and Linnea gave the both of them a smile before Rosalya spoke. "We're going to look for whatever AE is. You two should come with us."

Nathaniel and Castiel exchanged a glare. "What do you need the _both_ of us for?" Nathaniel muttered.

Rosalya put her hands on her hips. "Well, you're pretty smart and Castiel is pretty brawny so I figured the four of us would make a good search team. We're looking for a chest; it might be hard to open."

The both of them seemed ready to decline when Linnea dropped her head, the corners of her lips falling to the floor. She shuffled her feet before speaking softly, "You two don't have to come. I just figured you'd want to help me try to find my best friend." She peaked at them from behind her bangs and they seemed to soften but didn't budge completely. "You know we grew up together. She knew all of my secrets and I know I'll never love or trust anyone the way I love and trust her and I still believe she's out there somewhere."

They still didn't seem ready to budge and she blinked hard until her eyes filled with tears and she lifted her head slightly so they could see and she could tell she had them both at that. "Okay, fine, Linn," Nathaniel mumbled, "I'll do this for you."

Castiel muttered an agreement and Linnea grinned, grasping their wrists and leading the way into the forest.

The sun was beginning to set and they hadn't found a single sign of whatever AE could possibly be. The strength of the wind was increasing and the trees whistled overhead but Linnea was too determined to back out. She didn't want to put her friends in danger but she knew they would refuse to let her search alone; and after the appearance of what could've been Alex's ghost and the mirror, she figured it would be a bad idea.

The sky was a gradient of purple and orange and the temperature was dropping. Linnea shivered as a chilly gust of wind pushed at her, running through her hair. Even the grass that brushed against her feet in her sandals felt chilled and the others were growing uncomfortable too. On top of everything, Linnea hadn't realized how long it'd been since any of them had eaten; at least, not until her stomach growled loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Let's go back," Nathaniel called over another gust of wind, "It's getting dark."

Linnea gazed down at herself, mentally cursing her stomach for growling when Rosalya spoke. "Look at that!"

She lifted her gaze to where Rosalya was pointed to see a great big tree with roots the size of her whole body, woven together like a knit scarf. This tree in particular seemed to have the greenest of leaves that rattled with each passing gust of wind. But the size or beauty of the tree wasn't what interested Linnea; it was the carving. It had a heart with an 'A + E' in the center. "That's it!" she grinned before glancing to the left of it. There were remnants of what appeared to be a brick house, except there were only the bottom halves of the walls. She led the way around the half wall until they found a spot short enough to climb over and once inside, her gaze found a chest.

It was definitely large enough for Violette to fit in and the sight of it made Linnea's heart pound in her chest. It appeared worn and wooden with dull, plastic gold around the mouth of it. She could see termites crawling out of the wood and the closer she drew to the chest, the worse it smelled. It didn't smell like death, however; it smelled musky like the basement of a very old house would, as if whatever was in here hadn't been touched in a very long time.

Linnea grasped one corner and Castiel the other as they heaved the lid open and Rosalya gasped at the contents. Linnea knelt down in front of it. It was a big pile of bones, ranging between off-white and rusty brown, and there were bugs moving around inside some of the hollowed out holes. "These can't be Violette's," she pointed out.

Nathaniel reached over her shoulder from behind with a napkin in his hand and he used it to lift up one of the bones on top that seemed most intact and he examined it. When he lifted it out of her sight, bugs that had hidden underneath it scurried to some other hiding place and the gap left the bottom visible. She could see white paper with blue lines; it was too crisp of a sheet of paper to be as old as this chest or this body. "These look like they've been here for a very long time," Nathaniel noted, "I guess hiding a body wouldn't be difficult in these woods."

Linnea couldn't imagine a way to quickly remove enough bones to be able to reach in and grasp the paper and dumping out the chest was far too disrespectful. She pulled her sleeve over her hand and clenched the opening tight before reaching her arm inside and grasping the paper and withdrawing it. The others seemed repulsed until she had the paper in plain sight; then they were too curious to scold her. There were a couple of insects on her sleeve and she simply shook them off. "You've found me," she read aloud, "or maybe I have found you. You are next, Linnea Larsson. You cannot escape their will. You will pay just as I have. Perhaps the next chest you find will be someone you love."

She began to tremble and wasn't sure if it was due to the cold or due to the chills up her spine at reading the message. There were scribbles she was having trouble deciphering at the bottom. "Nothing will happen to you, Linn," Rosalya's voice murmured from just behind Linnea, startling her a bit. Rosalya wrapped her arms around Linnea's shoulders, holding her tightly. "All of us will protect you, just like we should have protected Violette. You're safe." Linnea closed her eyes, taking in Rosalya's comforting embrace and words when suddenly, Rosalya spoke again. "There are carvings on the inside of the chest's lid."

Linnea opened her eyes and saw the wooden plaque attached to the center of the lid and there was another chilling message carved into it.

_"__My beloved Edward,  
You kept running away from me. You said you wanted to be with other women. I thought we were in love.  
Look what you made me do. Now your mother will cry every night and it's all your fault.  
But once I become like you, we will be together forever.  
\- Amelia"_


	5. Mystery Box

Armin sat by the fire that he and the others had lit not too long ago. Linnea and the rest of the search group hadn't returned yet but he expected them to return soon; it was growing dark and cold and he could imagine Linnea's stomach was probably growling right about now. He chuckled at the thought when a sudden gust of wind hit that was much stronger than the others, nearly knocking him off the log and into the fire when he heard a girl's voice in the wind's whistles. "Help her."

He furrowed his brow and sat up straight, gazing around. Only Peggy and Lysander were sitting by the fire with him but they didn't seem to hear it. He felt a sudden chill against his neck and chest as if someone with cold skin had hugged him from behind.

"Help her," the voice whispered right into her ear, so close that he could feel her breath on his cheek but he couldn't see a thing. "They're going to get Linn next. Don't let them hurt her." The wind became so strong that the fire was pointed away from him when it suddenly stopped altogether, along with the feeling of being hugged. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and the others seemed startled by the wind's sudden stop; they didn't seem to hear the voice.

Armin got to his feet, feeling too startled to sit still and he approached his tent, where he could tell Kentin what had occurred. He opened the tent, opening his mouth to speak but then stopping suddenly. He sat in the dirt, sighing and shaking his head. "Oh, no, not this again."

Linnea frowned the entire walk home and stood in the center of the camp, just beside the lit fire, holding her arms up. "We live!" she announced before her stomach growled and she whined, touching her belly, "But not for long before we die of hunger."

Peggy got to her feet from beside the fire, approaching slowly, an expression of angst shadowing her face. "I'm glad you guys made it back. We waited for you all."

Linnea's arms fell to her side, standing up straight. "You guys waited?"

Peggy nodded. "Kentin is missing."

Linnea stiffened, hearing Rosalya gasp from her other side. "He's... missing?" Peggy nodded slowly. "Are you sure? You guys searched for him?"

"Of course we did," Armin answered from behind the four of them and they simultaneously turned to face him. "That was the first thing we did. This whole thing is getting freaky."

Rosalya nodded. "Who knows when they're going to stop? Who are they going for next?"

Linnea trembled at the thought. She was right; if they took Violette and Kentin, that meant anyone of them could be next. What would stop them from taking every single one of them? She yawned, stretching her arms up. "Well, let's go get some dinner! I'm starved." They all gazed at her wide-eyed and she smiled warmly. "What do you guys think Kentin and Violette are thinking right now? Do you think they're thinking 'I hope my friends are sad and scared' or do you think they're thinking 'I hope my friends are coming to save me'? We're still here now, aren't we? We'll find Kentin and Violette, for sure!" They all seemed to relax a bit and she linked arms with Rosalya and Armin. "Let's all go! No one gets left behind!"

The next morning, once they were all awake, the eight of them went together for breakfast. They were mostly quiet as they ate and Linnea knew that they were afraid. She felt afraid as well; she couldn't blame them. Nobody had a clue who could be next. Nobody had a clue if Violette and Kentin were even still breathing. Nobody knew anything and it was nerve racking.

Once Linnea tossed out her tray, she retrieved the folded up note from her pocket and set it, unfolded, on the table. "Does anyone think they can decipher this?"

The attention of the others was drawn to the note. It was the paper she had found at the bottom of the chest with Rosalya, Nathaniel, and Castiel. Armin, beside her, reached over and read the note aloud. "Is this someone's idea of a joke?" Peggy muttered, astonished by what it had said.

Linnea sat up straight, putting her cheek in the palm of her hand. "I don't know. Do you believe in ghosts?"

Peggy was ready to shoot down Linnea's suggestion when Armin set down the paper, clearing his throat. "I think Linn might be right." The others turned their attention to him and he gazed down at the paper with a furrowed brow. "I have no idea what this means but I don't think human beings are the ones doing this. I don't know if I believe in ghosts or... demons... or whatever but this is too messed up to be something a human could do."

Linnea nodded in agreement. "None of us really know what to think but we do know that we have to find Violette and Kentin, no matter what the cost. If things keep going like this—meaning one person per day—then we have to find them as soon as we can and we all have to stick together. I don't think any of us should even be alone at camp. Don't stay in your tents alone either. It's too risky."

"In our tents?" Castiel remarked, "What would happen to us in our tents?"

"Violette was in her tent when she went missing," Linnea pointed out.

Armin nodded. "Kentin was, too."

"So let's get back to deciphering this weird note," Linnea announced, gazing down at the table to see the note wasn't there. She was only seconds away from coming to the conclusion that a ghost took it when she realized it was in Lysander's hands, one seat away from her. "Did you think of something?"

He gazed at it with a furrowed brow. "What about the map?" he suggested and Linnea cocked her head to one side, curiously. "You found a message on the schedule the first time. The map was the only other thing they provided, besides the tents."

Linnea snapped her fingers. "Okay! Get out your map."

Lysander looked away sheepishly. "I lost mine."

Nathaniel, between Linnea and Lysander, reached into his pocket. "Don't worry, I have mine." He unfolded it, laying it out on the table beside the paper. She furrowed her brow, gazing at it with her head leaned to one side before Nathaniel broke the silence again. "The circle in the center," he pointed at the center of the scribbles, tracing it with his finger, "It looks like the circle on the map that shows where camp is."

Linnea nodded. "Maybe it _is_ something on the map." She gazed at it closely. "That's the only part in that mess that is curved or circular. Everything else is connected and a straight line. Where the lines come together, it makes an angle. What if the angles are places where they've hidden things?"

"Let's check it out," Nathaniel suggested and Linnea nodded.

"I'm not going this time," Rosalya muttered, shivering, "I'm not sure I can take seeing another pile of bones again."

Linnea chuckled. "So much for protecting me," she teased.

Rosalya rolled her eyes. "I'll protect you in spirit. I need to protect my sanity first."

Linnea shrugged. "Who _does_ want to go, besides Nathaniel?"

"I do," Armin offered, "Creepy things keep happening at camp and I'd rather not spend too much time there."

Linnea nodded, gazing around at the group before Peggy sighed. "Fine, I'll take one for the team. You all owe me, though."

Linnea grinned. "So I guess just the four of us are going, then. I don't think we'll need any more people anyway."

After lunch, Linnea led Nathaniel, Armin, and Peggy towards the nearest point on the map. They were careful to stick to the path that the map read so they wouldn't get lost. They walked in silence, the only noise being the sound of the dying grass crunching beneath their feet and the occasional rustle of the trees.

"This is creepy," Peggy broke the silence, "It's day out and this forest couldn't get any creepier. Remind me to never enter a forest ever again once we get out of this place."

"I was skeptical about going in the beginning," Armin agreed, crossing his arms, "This wouldn't happen to me if I was in the comfort of my own home."

Linnea chuckled, shaking her head. "Armin, you realize that the majority of horror movies take place in a house, right?" she teased, giving him a sideways glance, "You just want to use the internet."

"There's nothing wrong with that," he answered with a smile and she giggled.

They came to a bump in the dirt where the point was on the map. The dirt was overturned as if someone had buried something there not too long ago. Linnea folded up the map and the note, sticking them in her pockets before beginning to dig with her hands.

"That'll take you forever by yourself," Armin pointed out before joining her, Nathaniel and Peggy doing the same not long after. They finally reached a box, worn and a bit soggy, at the bottom of the shallow hole.

Linnea reached in, pulling out the surprisingly light box and opening it up. "That can't be..."


	6. Father's Glasses

Linnea reached into the box, retrieving and unfolding the contents; it was full of Violette's clothes. They had stains of something dark on them and they looked worn and dirty, as if they'd been out here for a long time. Linnea trembled, her fingers running over the stains. "Don't tell me this is what I think it is..."

Armin snatched up the clothes and returned them to the box, closing it. Linnea continued to gaze at her empty hands, her expression hurt and dazed. "We should be quick with finding her then, don't you think?" Linnea lifted her gaze to him and he gave her an obviously forced smile; he was clearly trying to cheer her up despite his own fear. "She probably gets cold at night without these. Let's go find the next thing, okay?"

Linnea took a deep breath, a small, forced smile pinching up her lips. "You're right." She gathered the box into her arms, getting to her feet. She slipped a hand into her pocket, retrieving the note and the map and handing them to Nathaniel. "You can lead the way."

He nodded, unfolding them and examining them before beginning to walk. Linnea followed, hugging the box to her chest as she gazed down at the floor. Armin was right; she must get very cold at night. Her chest suddenly felt tight as she put herself in Violette's shoes; she was probably cold and lonely. Linnea wondered if Violette was being fed.

Armin touched her shoulder, pulling her out of her thoughts and giving her a comforting smile. She returned it before setting her gaze forward. He probably felt the same way she did, considering he and Kentin were good friends prior to the incident. She took a deep breath, nodding to herself; she needed to pull herself together, not just for Violette's sake but for her friends as well. They all seemed shaken up and she needed to provide a pillar of strength for them to lean on, as she had been doing.

Peggy and Armin mumbled to each other occasionally but they mostly all walked in silence. Linnea felt a bit relieved as it was difficult to keep smiling after seeing the contents of the box. She touched her chin worriedly. If it really had been blood stains on her clothing that meant Violette could have been hurt. She hugged the box to her chest, gazing down at the floor. Patience was difficult but she knew in the end she would succeed in rescuing Violette and Kentin. She nodded to herself, lifting her chin. Nothing would go wrong.

"We're here," Nathaniel announced, stopping.

The four of them gazed around; there was nothing particularly special about this spot except for the large tree that stood in the way of the path they'd been following. "Are you sure this is the right spot?" Peggy asked skeptically.

Nathaniel nodded. "Positive. The big tree is even on the map."

Linnea furrowed her brow, approaching the big tree and gazing around. "Why would this be a point on the note if it's not important? I don't understand." She put her hands against the tree feeling around for anything peculiar when she tripped over a root, falling to the floor. "Ow," she muttered, sitting up and gazing down at the root. It was strange; for some reason this root stood out and none of the others did. She curiously walked along the root until she reached it's end and she felt around the floor with her foot. It felt a bit hollow. "Guys, come here," she called, "I think there might be something underneath the ground here."

She began to dig with her hands again, her friends helping soon after and it didn't take the four of them long to reach a wooden, old-style trap door. She pulled it open without asking their opinions first and gazed down. "It's completely dark," Peggy breathed as they gazed at it.

Linnea sat on her ankles, giving Nathaniel a smile. "You have a flashlight," she predicted.

Nathaniel set his back pack on his lap and unzipped it, reaching in and withdrawing a flashlight. "How did you know about this?" he chuckled, eyeing her curiously.

Linnea shrugged. "It just seems like such a Nathaniel thing to do; remembering to bring a flashlight." He returned his back pack to his back before turning on the flashlight and shining it down into the hole. They could see a cement floor as if someone built this room a long time ago and the flashlight shined on to the ladder.

Linnea set the box down on the ground and held her hand out to Nathaniel and he handed her his flashlight and she began climbing down the ladder, followed by Armin. "Be careful," Nathaniel warned, letting Peggy descend the ladder before him, "Is there anything down there?"

Linnea shined the flashlight to all corners of the room when she found something at the other end. There appeared to be chains with cuffs coming from the wall; four of them, actually. One for each arm and leg a person has. But that wasn't what had her attention. What her attention was drawn to was the glasses on the floor. They were rectangular and narrow, not too small or too big, though. They had a thick black frame and a crack running through the right lens and she could see the familiar brand name on the left side written in calligraphy she couldn't understand. She approached slowly, kneeling down beside them and lifting them up, gazing at them closely. Nathaniel and Peggy stayed by the ladder, where some light from the sun shed down on to them and Armin followed Linnea, kneeling down beside her.

"These... are my father's reading glasses," she murmured, "I haven't seen these in ages... My mother threw them away after what he did to my sister and was admitted into the hospital. She didn't want me to remember."

"You mean that insane story you told me was true?" Armin gasped. After a few moments of silence, he retrieved the glasses from her, gazing at them closely. "I don't think these have been here as long as those chains have. In fact, I doubt they've even been here longer than a day." He put them on to his face, gazing around. "Definitely reading glasses," he confirmed before freezing.

Linnea sighed, getting to her feet. "Let's just take them and hurry to the next spot before the sun starts to set."

She began approaching Nathaniel and Peggy near the ladder when she heard Armin whisper in a raspy voice, "Linn." She furrowed her brow, turning to face him and his hands were around her throat the next second, lifting her off her feet. She grasped his hands in an attempt to pull them off of her, trying to maintain her vision to gaze at his face. He looked the same way her father did the night of the incident with her sister.

Nathaniel and Peggy were trying to pull him off of her but he wouldn't budge. Linnea could tell that his strength was too superhuman at the moment for even the both of them to pull him off. An idea reached her fuzzy thoughts and she lifted a hand, smacking his face so hard that the glasses flew off his face and to the floor. The second they were off his face, he released her and she fell to the floor, holding her heavy body up with her hands on the floor as she gasped for air, feeling the blood return to her head. Once her vision was no longer too blurry to see properly, her gaze found the glasses and now both lenses were shattered, but still held together in the frame.

Armin fell to his knees, his face pale as he tangled his fingers into his hair, gazing down at the floor. "Linn... I... I don't know what just happened."

Linnea hardly heard him speak as she reached her hands towards the glasses, folding them together before getting to her feet. "Let's go," she told them, gesturing towards the ladder.

"Are you okay, Linn?" Nathaniel asked and he and Peggy both had concerned yet astonished looks on their faces. Linnea nodded when he reached over, touching the side of her neck with his fingertips. "Are you sure? You have bruises. We can go back to camp if you're not feeling up to walking around more."

Linnea shook her head quickly. "No, we have to find them," she demanded, "I can't rest until we find Violette and Kentin. If we wait until tomorrow, someone else might go missing tonight and I can't let that happen."

She was beginning to feel a bit lightheaded but wouldn't dare admit it, reaching a hand out to Armin and he grasped it, letting her pull him to his feet. "Linn, I don't know why I did that. It was like something possessed me."

Linnea shook her head, approaching the ladder. "I know you wouldn't do that to me. It was the glasses. As soon as you put them on, you started acting like that." She reached for the ladder, pulling herself on to it. "You were acting like... like my father." She climbed a bit before her hands slipped and she fell back, Peggy, at the bottom of the ladder, catching her.

"Linn, we have to go back to camp," Nathaniel sighed as Linnea steadied herself, "Your face is pale and you don't look too good right now."

"I'm fine," she insisted, reaching for the ladder again when Armin grasped her wrist.

"You're not fine," he pointed out before turning and lifting her on to his back, "Just try to hold on until we get to the top."

Linnea sighed, pouting as he climbed up the ladder, setting her down at the top. She grasped the box and set the glasses inside, holding it to her chest as the others climbed up.

They arrived at camp and were glad to find that none of the others were missing. They all went and had dinner and sat by the fire, talking a bit before going to bed. Linnea lay in her sleeping bag, gazing up at the top of her tent with her hands behind her head. After eating, she felt much better and the four of them didn't discuss what had happened with the glasses with the others.

The only sound in the night that Linnea could hear was the sound of the wind whistling through the trees and the crackling fire. She sighed as she imagined Armin also alone in his tent and she wondered if he could manage to sleep well knowing there was something out there. She considered sleeping next to him but figured that would be a little more than strange when her tent unzipped, pulling her out of her thoughts. Much to her relief, Rosalya poked her head in, giving her a smile before crawling in, Peggy behind her.

"What are you guys doing?" she whispered as Peggy zipped the tent up.

"No one is gonna sleep alone tonight," Rosalya answered, holding up a blanket as she laid on top of Linnea's sleeping bag, Peggy crawling into Violette's.

Linnea moved over a bit so Rosalya had room before cocking her head to one side. "But what about Armin? He's alone too."

Rosalya nodded. "I told Alexy and Nathaniel about it and they took care of that."

Linnea nodded, turning to her side and closing her eyes. At least now she wouldn't have to feel so worried. "Goodnight."


	7. Missing

Linnea awoke to the sound of Rosalya's panicked voice calling her name, feeling her arm being tugged on and she rubbed her eyes, sitting up. "What's wrong?" she mumbled, gazing around.

"Peggy's gone!" Rosalya gestured to the empty spot where Peggy had slept. "They took her in her sleep!"

Linnea sat up, her brow furrowed. "Are you sure? Did you check if she just went to the bathroom?"

Rosalya shook her head. "Let's go check now. I don't think she would have gone alone though."

Linnea crawled out of the tent after Rosalya, letting her lead the way. Gazing around at the empty camp, it seemed that everyone was still asleep. She felt herself tense up as she wondered if anyone else had been taken as well but her mind didn't dwell on it as she followed the rushing Rosalya out of camp and towards the bathrooms.

Once they arrived, it was quiet and after exploring for a bit, they didn't see her anywhere and heard no responses to calling her name. They searched every corner before retreating back to camp with heavy hearts and clenched fists. They arrived to see Armin, Nathaniel, Castiel, and Lysander all standing around the ashy, dry fire pit with anxious expressions. Linnea's heart dropped and her breath caught in her throat at the sight of them, her and Rosalya approaching.

"What's going on?" Rosalya asked.

The rest of them stayed silent and Linnea kept her gaze glued on to the fire pit, crossing her arms as if she was cold to keep herself from shivering but it was inevitable with the emotions she was feeling. "It's... just the six of us, isn't it?"

The question went unanswered but the lack of an answer confirmed it. Linnea couldn't bring herself to lift her gaze to Armin; she didn't want to see the expression on his face out of fear of catching hints of what he could possibly be feeling. She swallowed hard, the silence excruciating yet she felt as if she had hands around her throat. She couldn't even bring herself to lighten the heavy mood. "We were worried," Nathaniel broke the silence, "that you two were gone as well. I'm relieved that it's not down to four."

He didn't say anything else but she knew that he had purposely avoided adding a '_yet_' at the end of it. He still had hope. Linnea swallowed again, letting her hands fall to her side before taking a deep breath. He was right to have hope. She didn't need to give up yet. "Let's get breakfast," she spoke, catching their attention, "We can't go find them on empty stomachs, can we?" When they all seemed astonished she could have such an attitude, she gave them a smile. "This time we'll all go searching."

She led the way to the cafeteria and they ate in silence. She wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want to seem too optimistic because it might seem insensitive to Armin but she didn't want to look at the negative side of things either. She was never one to say the cup was half-empty. Once they finished eating, she sat up, smiling at them all. "Let's start as soon as possible so we can get as much done as we can today."

"But what about tonight?" Rosalya asked quietly, shifting in her seat, "They can take us in our sleep. What are we going to do?"

Linnea clenched her hands into fists. She hadn't considered it. She gazed at the table in front of her thoughtfully when an idea came to mind. "Guys, is it possible that Violette and Kentin could have been sleeping when they were taken?" she suggested, "They were by themselves in their tents, right? And none of you have taken a nap since we got here, right?"

"What are you saying?" Castiel asked with a furrowed brow.

"Last night, there were three people in my tent," she answered, addressing all five of them, "and one of them went missing to make two people. The same thing happened in Armin's tent. When Violette and Kentin were alone, what else could they have been doing all by themselves in their tents for so long? I doubt they were just staring at the tents; that'd get boring, right? They could have fallen asleep! What if they only go for us if we have an odd number of us sleeping in our tents? We can consider zero to be an even number."

Nathaniel leaned forward. "It makes sense, but... isn't it kind of risky to experiment that?"

Linnea gazed down at the table again. "Maybe, but we'll never be able to stay up for the next three days until we can go home." Nobody had any arguments and she sat up again. "Let's get going."

She had her map and there were still points left on the note to find. "How many are left?" Nathaniel asked.

Linnea furrowed her brow, gazing at it. "It looks like three are left. We're almost there. We can do this today!"

"Wait a second," Rosalya interrupted, "Linn, before last night, you slept alone in your tent. That means your theory can't be true."

Linnea tilted her head to one side. "I guess you're right. What... should we do then?" After a few moments, she received no vocal response, only uneasy expressions and she got to her feet. "Let's go search. We don't have to think about it now." They seemed to agree as they followed her out.

Linnea led the way using her map to guide her, walking through the eerie forest. The sky was gray and the leaves seemed to be falling from the trees at an alarming rate; especially for April. The atmosphere had a pre-rain feel to it, which wouldn't be good in the cold nights when they would need to light a fire to keep warm. A cold breeze pushed past them and she felt the sensation of someone running their fingers through her hair, giving her a tremor in her gait but she didn't slow down. In fact, she sped up, hoping the others could keep up.

When they finally arrived at the point on the note, there was a box. She felt a bit skeptical that they would just give it to them when they'd had to do some kind of work for the last two. Approaching slowly, she knelt down beside it and lifted the lid of the box up from the side to find a notebook. Furrowing her brow, she lifted it out of the box, gazing at it curiously and she was almost going to open it when Lysander spoke up. "That's mine."

Linnea got to her feet, handing it to him. "Why did they have that?"

He shrugged, shaking his head and opening it. "I've been looking for it since we arrived." He flipped through the pages before stopping suddenly, visibly tensing up. Castiel, behind him where he could see the inside of the notebook too, also had a very uneasy expression on his face.

"What is it?" Linnea asked, approaching and standing where she could see the page. She inhaled sharply at the sight. It read 'Die.' over and over, filling up the entire page and it appeared to be written in blood. Rosalya, Armin, and Nathaniel looked too, overcome by curiosity, and Rosalya covered her mouth, Nathaniel and Armin both petrified. "Tear it out," she broke the silence and Lysander glanced back at her questioningly. "Tear it out," she repeated, "Tear out the page and give it to me." He did as she asked and she took the paper, crumbling it up before kneeling down on the ground and burying it under the dirt with her hands. She got to her feet, wiping off her hands on her top. "Let's go to the next spot."

They still seemed shocked by the horror-movie-like occurrence but Linnea was determined to finish the note before sunset. She led the way to the next spot and they were silent again on the way; they seemed completely shaken up and she couldn't blame them. She felt the same way but her determination was in the way of her showing it. She stopped at the next spot and gazed around but it was almost like the second point, where what it was wasn't obviously hidden. She tapped her chin, glancing left and right when she heard Nathaniel speak behind her.

"Look." She glanced back at him to see him looking up, directly above their heads and she did the same. There was something very thin and long like a wire hanging from the tree and from this distance, it appeared to be some shade of red but she couldn't tell for sure. She reached up for the lowest branch and pulled herself on top of it, climbing until she was high enough up to reach for the wire. She tugged at it and it didn't seem to budge, but upon closer examination they appeared to be headphones hooked on to the branch. She removed them and climbed down, gazing at them. "I think these are Alexy's."


	8. Late Night Calls

After Armin confirmed that the headphones were Alexy's, Linnea felt as if a brick was in her stomach, but she forced a supportive smile. "I'll find them all, Armin," she reassured, "I promise."

She wasn't quite sure of her own words and she also wasn't sure why she felt so unlike herself. She would never question herself on a normal occasion; normally, she would be confident in everything she did and every promise she made. Never once has she felt as if her promise was just empty words, at least not until now.

Linnea took a deep breath, returning her gaze to the note and beginning to walk. For the first time in the midst of the silence, she listened. Normally, silence was excruciatingly boring if she was with a group of people who she normally had fun with. She would always have something to say, something to talk about and she always knew how to spark a good conversation. However, she felt tongue-tied. She wasn't sure what to say; in the current situation, her optimism might come off as annoying but being pessimistic would be just as annoying. Talking about that funny thing her mother had said to her last Tuesday seemed like such a strange thing to do, although she'd have done it in another situation. It felt so surreal because all the things she would normally talk about seemed so distant and irrelevant.

Then again, there was nothing normal about their current situation so comparing herself on a normal occasion to herself now would be useless.

They arrived at the next point on the map, and it seemed like another spot where they'd have to figure out what the point was for. Linnea gazed around when suddenly she felt as if a force was drawing her forward.

"Linnea," she heard a voice whisper and she drew close to it, her feet appearing to move on her own, her toes brushing against the dirt with each step in her sandals. She couldn't even hear her friends calling after her, especially not when she heard a deafening smack before she felt two ice cold hands hit her cheeks and she found herself gazing into the eyes of her dead sister, Alex. Her eyes were wide and a horrifying shade of red instead of the ocean blue they had been when she was alive. Her skin was pale like paper and her dry lips were purple. The trees behind her seemed to mold together and Linnea couldn't hear a thing except her beating heart. "Why did you let them take me away? Why did you betray me?"

Linnea opened her mouth to scream but it was like a nightmare, nothing would escape her lips. Instead, she was dropped to the floor and she returned to the scenery of the forest. She gazed down at the floor with wide eyes, her heart still racing in her chest as she dug her fingers into the dirt. She felt so horrified by it, her ears ringing and she didn't even realize she was crying until she saw her tears dripping on to the ground between her hands.

She jumped when she felt Rosalya grasp her shoulders and pull her up into a firm embrace. "Linn, what just happened? Why are you crying?"

Linnea shook her head, her eyes wide. She could see that the once lush green leaves on the trees, past the legs of the others around her, had faded into a deep plum, nearly black. She trembled before feeling Rosalya wipe the tears away from her cheeks.

"Linn," she whispered, too quietly for the others to hear, "if this is taking too much of a toll on you, we can go back to camp for now."

Linnea shook her head quickly, sitting up. "I'm fine. Let's go." She jumped to her feet and returned to the area where the map led her, the others following. Once they returned, there was a crude X drawn into a dirt where they had stood. "That wasn't there before, was it?" she pointed out.

"Linn," Nathaniel said quietly, his voice horrified.

Linnea turned her head to look at him to see his eyes were on her back. She attempted to look down her back but saw nothing, so she resorted to taking off the jacket she wore against the cold. She held up the back and saw a dark red X painted into the cloth of her coat; that wasn't there before either. Rosalya gagged and Linnea dropped it to the floor, kicking it away in a panic.

"Guys," Castiel spoke, his voice just in shock as the rest of them, "where… is Lysander?"

There was a deafening silence following his words as they all gazed at each other. Linnea could hear her heart pounding through her ears and it crossed her mind that the others might hear it too; but then she figured they were probably thinking the same thing. She could feel her resolve shatter a bit. Her theory was definitely proven wrong now but that wasn't it; now it wasn't Violette's life alone at stake here, it was everyone. "Do you guys think…" Linnea spoke quietly, her voice just barely breaking a whisper, "…maybe it's the ghost of my sister that's doing this? Maybe she can't be at rest because I've just been enjoying my life the past few years while she spent her life in fear?"

Armin shook his head quickly. "Linn, I don't know what just happened to make you think that but your sister isn't the one doing this. She came to me the other day." Everyone's gaze turned to Armin, now more puzzled than afraid, as if they were all simultaneously questioning his sanity; except Linnea, that is. "She kept telling me to save you. She was afraid for you, Linn. She doesn't want you to end up like her."

Linnea felt her heart clench at his words. How could she ever even consider the idea her sister would wish something this horrible on her? Alex was always selfless and giving and she wouldn't hurt a fly. She never deserved the awful ending that was forced upon her by whatever cruel malevolent supernatural being that had possessed her father. She took a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair. "I believe you," she told him, nodding a bit, "She wouldn't do this."

Nathaniel broke the circle they had formed, approaching the X drawn into the ground and poked at it with his shoe. "Do you think we should dig here?"

Rosalya's face was pale and she appeared to be at her limit, gazing at the X with resentment. Linnea touched her arm comfortingly, giving her a smile. "Don't worry Rosalya, you don't have to look inside. We'll tell you if it's okay."

She nodded slowly, taking a few steps back away from the spot so she wouldn't have to see what's inside and the others began to dig with their hands. Linnea's gaze found what appeared to be a hand beneath the dirt. "Oh my god," she breathed and at the sight, they all began to dig faster. Eventually, they unearthed Kentin and Linnea checked for a pulse immediately. "He's alive," she breathed in relief as they lifted his unconscious body out of the hole, "He must've not been buried long."

"How are we going to make sure he stays alive?" Nathaniel worriedly asked, "Even if he wasn't buried long, there wasn't any hole or anything so he must've inhaled a lot of dirt."

Linnea shook her head. "I… don't know. I just hope he'll be okay."

She grasped his shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position, giving him a gentle shake. His eyes shot open, much to their shock, but what was the most frightening thing was the fact that they were completely white. His head still bobbed towards his shoulder and his mouth opened slightly. "You cannot evade me," his voice growled, "For everything given, something is lost."

His eyes closed again and his head fell back, rested on his neck. Linnea could feel her heart pounding and she could hear Rosalya on the verge of hyperventilating. She lifted her gaze to Castiel. "Can you carry him?"

"After all that?" Castiel demanded, "We should just leave him here!"

Linnea furrowed her brow, shaking his head. "That wasn't Kentin. We shouldn't blame him for that." Something about her own words resonated within her. "Castiel… please."

Castiel sighed before roughly lifting unconscious Kentin up.

"What do we do now?" she asked the others, shuffling her feet a bit, "Getting Kentin back is better than nothing."

"I don't want to go back to camp." Rosalya's voice shook as she spoke, her face still pale as a ghost. "We're better off trying to find our way out of here."

Linnea shook her head slowly. "I understand how you feel, Rosalya, but the city is miles from here. We couldn't get there before it got dark. There aren't even any houses around here."

Rosalya sighed deeply and they began walking back to camp. Linnea sat in the dirt in front of the fire after they lit it and Rosalya retrieved her blanket, pulling it over herself and resting her head on Linnea's lap. Armin offered to wait beside Kentin in the tent and Nathaniel and Castiel sat on opposite ends of the fire on the logs.

"For everything given, something is lost," Linnea repeated slowly, "There are six of us right now… are they saying we have to exchange four of us if we want to get the others back? Or are they saying they took Lysander in exchange for Kentin?"

Rosalya shook her head quickly. "Stop talking about it. I want to think about something else for five minutes."

Linnea nodded, closing her eyes and leaning against the log behind her. "I remember when I left home… my mom had that look in her eye. She kept asking me if I'm sure I want to go and I thought it was just her being overly worried for nothing but… maybe it was her mother's intuition. She hugged me really tightly before I left and she told me to be safe. I thought that was really weird because she always says 'take care' or 'have fun', never 'be safe'." She nibbled on her lip, feeling a gentle gust of wind push past. "I hope she's doing okay."

Principal Shermansky nervously answered phone call after phone call from worried parents; it had been going on for days now. She wasn't quite sure how to deal with the fact that the service was bad in the forest, that wasn't exactly her call.

The sun had set and she had packed up her things, preparing to call it a night and go home when her phone rang. She rolled her eyes, picking it up. "Principal Shermansky?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

She sighed. "If this is about the camping trip, I don't know what to tell you. Service in the forest is bad and they'll be home on Friday. You'll just have to wait until then."

"No," the voice answered, surprisingly calm in comparison to the other parents, "Are you sure you can't contact Linnea's cell phone? I have very urgent news regarding her mother."

She furrowed her brow. "No, I can't. Who is this? What is the urgent news?"

"This is Linnea's father," the voice replied, "I wanted Linnea to know that her mother is dead. It was suicide. Please let her know as soon as you can."

The line went dead and Principal Shermansky gazed at the phone with wide, horrified eyes. She had been so focused on the part about the death of Linnea's mother that it hadn't even crossed her mind that Linnea's father was dead too.


	9. Trade

Linnea's eyes stung with each blink as she gazed up at the top of the tent. She could hear Rosalya's tossing and turning all night; it seemed she was having trouble falling asleep, too. She could see the orange light of the sun rising through the tent and she turned on her side away from it, squeezing her eyes closed.

Everything was wrong. This had to be some sort of cruel nightmare. Maybe she was still asleep from that time she watched that horror movie with her mother and eaten way too many sweets to sleep soundly. She had a horrific nightmare that night, too; but her current reality was much worse. No nightmare could equate to the way she felt now.

-✦-

Linnea's eyes opened after realizing she must have fallen asleep. She still felt exhausted physically and mentally so it must've been only a short amount. She stared up at the top of the tent again, rubbing her eyes. It was eerily silent; Rosalya was probably asleep too, she thought to herself, turning to look at her. For a moment, she felt as if her heart had stopped as the sight of Rosalya's vacant sleeping bag. She sat up so quickly that her eyes blurred for a moment and once they cleared, she unzipped the tent and climbed out. "Rosalya?" she called, feeling her eyes well with hot tears.

When she didn't even hear a response from any of the others, she began to feel suspicious, rushing to each tent and unzipping them. They were all empty. She was completely alone.

"This can't be happening," she told herself, dropping to her knees, "This can't be happening. This isn't happening!"

She curled in on herself on the hard dirt floor, sobbing into her hands. Now she was completely alone. She had always been an independent person who was okay with doing things on her own but this was different. This wasn't going to the mall when all of her friends were busy and this wasn't going on a long grocery run for her mother when she had work. This wasn't deciding on what university would be best for her or studying for a makeup exam. This was her life being gambled, and for what, she didn't know.

The wind grew strong and sent chills through her skin, drowning out her wails of grief for her friends and for herself, too. Suddenly, it came to a stop and the air was so still that she had to question whether there had been any wind at all. She rubbed her eyes, sniffling when she heard a familiar voice.

"Linn."

She hadn't realized how much she had truly yearned to hear her voice until the sound of it reached her ears and she sat up quickly, blinking away the last of her tears. "V… Violette?"

Violette stood there, her face pale and her eyes dark as if she hadn't been sleeping. Her hair was messy and she wore the clothes that she had gone missing in, with the same red stains that Linnea had found on them. Violette had an astonished look in her eyes as they locked gazes and Linnea jumped to her feet, rushing over and gathering her friend in her arms.

"Violette," she murmured, "I'm so happy to see you. Does that mean the others are still alive? Oh, Violette."

"I don't know," Violette answered, her voice shaky, "I was sent here to come and get you. They want to talk to you."

Linnea pulled away from their embrace, gazing at Violette curiously. "Who's they?"

Violette took Linnea's hand and began leading her away from camp. "Your parents."

Linnea furrowed her brow, her stomach clenching. "My… parents?"

Violette didn't respond and they wove through the trees, going off the path and Linnea was sure that if Violette didn't lead her back, she'd never be able to find her way. The air was still and the lack of movement in the trees was a bit haunting. Everything appeared to have a blue color scheme that reminded her of late autumn, when the world seemed to be preparing itself for winter. But that wasn't right; it was March.

The trees broke into a small clearing with nothing but a large gunmetal gray rock. Violette released Linnea's hand and after a blink, her parents appeared, holding hands, and Alex stood in front of them. Linnea could feel her hands beginning to tremble as she took a small step towards them. "Mom… what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at home… you're… supposed to be…" Her mother didn't respond and Linnea felt tears well in her eyes, anticipating the answer.

Alex lifted a small delicate hand out to Linnea, giving her a smile. "Come on, Linn, come with us! We can be a happy family again, like before!" Linnea shook her head, taking a step back and reaching for Violette's hand but finding nothing; Violette was gone. Alex, still the little girl she had been when she died, skipped towards Linnea, grasping her hands and smiling. "You'll come with us. Daddy has something to tell you!"

Linnea lifted her horrified gaze to her father's spirit. When she'd last seen him, he had a manic glint in his eyes and he always jumped at any chance he could to put her or Alex down, as if he regretted having children to begin with. It had gone on for months. However, right now, he had that familiar, warm smile on his face and his dirty blonde hair hung over his deep blue eyes. He met her gaze, lightly tilting his head to one side. "Linn, they want you here. Everything will be okay again if you come with us."

Linnea clenched Alex's cold hands tightly, furrowing her brow. "Dad," she murmured, before shaking her head, "Everything was okay before I came to this forest. I liked living with mom and I liked seeing all of my friends every day. School was a happy place." Her voice began trembling as she continued, "Why do they want me? Why do they want our family?"

He released her mother's hand, taking a step towards Linnea. "Linn… there's a story behind it." She gazed at him intently, determined to figure out any hidden motives. His straight face broke into a warm smile. "I won't tell you until you join us. However, your friends are here. They're not dead, not yet, at least. The presence in the forest wants to trade; you, for them. If you join us, they'll be set free. If you don't, they'll die."

Linnea could feel her heart beating in every part of her body as she gazed at him. Alex tugged at her hands and every ounce of her knew that it would be the right thing to do. For the sake of her friends, for the sake of their families, and for her own family. However, something in her was afraid of leaving behind all of her friends. She hated having to choose.

Suddenly, Linnea's family vanished and she was back in her tent, gasping for breath. She clutched her top over her chest as if her clothing was constricting her lungs. Once she realized her surroundings, she whipped her head to see that Rosalya was sleeping soundly beside her. Linnea virtually groaned in relief, falling back into her sleeping bag. "It was just a dream," she mumbled to herself, "Just… a… dream…" However, something inside her still clung to the idea of being able to see her family and rescue her friends. Something inside her was sure.

Rosalya's eyes fluttered open and she turned her puzzled gaze to Linnea. "Hey, are you okay?"

It was only when Rosalya pointed them out that Linnea felt the tears on her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away, giving Rosalya a smile. "I'm fine."

Rosalya gave her a strange look before sitting up. "Let's go check on the boys. Maybe Kentin woke up."

Linnea nodded, following Rosalya out of the tent. Kentin and Armin sat on the logs beside where the fire had been and they seemed calm. Armin welcomed the girls with a smile and they sat down as well. "We already checked on Nathaniel and Castiel," Armin told them, "They're okay."

Linnea smiled with relief before lifting a steady gaze to Kentin. "What about you, Kentin? Are you okay? Do you remember anything?"

Getting a good look at him, he seemed slightly dazed, shaking his head. "I don't remember anything. I feel fine, though."

Rosalya nodded slowly. "At least you're okay."


	10. Goodbye

Linnea sat, poking a stick she'd found into the fire. The flames radiated warmth and she knew, despite the comfort that it gave her, the fire wouldn't hesitate to devour her and everything else. It was held in place by rocks, but like a lion in a cage, it shivered and rumbled with the desire to escape.

Linnea's hand trembled, holding the stick. Her dream from the night before had flipped a switch inside her. Normally energetic and eager to get things started, she didn't feel very much like moving and she was lost in her thoughts. All she could think of was spending eternity in this forest with her parents and her dear sister. She was possessed by the thoughts; what things had she longed to tell her father but she couldn't? What kinds of lessons had she wanted to teach her sister but never got the chance? Her early life was consumed by darkness and misery and now she had the chance to fix everything.

There was a tap on her shoulder that had her nearly jumping out of her skin. "Are you okay?" Armin asked her, taking a seat beside her, "You're never this quiet."

Linnea lifted her gaze to him, unsure if she should confess to him her thoughts or if she should keep them to herself. She decided on the latter, giving him a smile. "I guess I just haven't been sleeping much lately."

"None of us have," he sighed, rubbing his eyes at the thought, "I wish we could just find everyone so that we could go home."

Linnea's gaze fell back to the fire thoughtfully. "What if you had to choose to sacrifice one of your friends to bring the rest back? Would you do it?"

Armin gazed at her as if she'd chopped off her own arm. "Linn, are you crazy? I could never pick and choose between my friends lives!"

"But it's your brother we're talking about," she insisted, "You wouldn't sacrifice one of us for your brother?"

"Stop," he sternly said, "I couldn't _sacrifice_ someone for anything. Are you sure you're okay? You should take a nap if you're this tired."

Linnea sighed, blinking hard before getting to her feet. "Where is everyone? Let's go get some food."

Everyone gathered in the middle of camp before beginning their trek to the cafeteria. The heavy silence that normally hung around made it's rounds; Linnea was growing used to it. The tensions were growing and the crazier everyone felt, the more they shut each other off. Linnea could feel the distance between everyone; they were never this silent before. A gust of wind pushed past, Linnea's hair riding along with it and she caught a whiff of her mother's perfume that had grown so familiar to her over the years. Her mother always wore the same perfume so all of her clothes smelled like it.

The scent took Linnea back to her home. She recalled the last time she'd fallen ill at the hand of the weather changes and she had terrible allergies. She was bedridden and her body ached from all the coughing and hacking that she had been doing for days. Her mother took a day off from work to take care of her and she was constantly checking in on her to the point where Linnea grew worried that her mother would catch her fever. She had enough soup and popsicles that week to last forever.

An aching longing spread throughout Linnea's chest as she recalled her mother and she wished to feel another hug, another kiss on her forehead, and her mother's sweet voice telling her to have fun and to call if she'd be home late. Of all the people in Linnea's life, her mother was the most important of all; she was her mother, of course. She could get overprotective but it was only because she had lost a daughter before, Linnea understood that. Suddenly, she regretted every time she talked back or badmouthed her and every fight she'd picked. She wished she could see her mother again; except this time, not in a dream.

When Linnea's head left the clouds, she found herself standing in the cafeteria, staring off into space. All her classmates had scattered about, getting their food. Suddenly deciding against grabbing a bite, she took a seat at a table by herself. There wasn't anyone in the cafeteria aside from Sweet Amoris students but that was the usual case at this point. She rested her elbow on the table and cupped her cheek in her hand, watching her friends and awaiting their return.

"I thought you were going to eat," Armin mused as he sat beside her, gazing at her curiously, "You were the one who suggested we come here."

Linnea shrugged. "I changed my mind." She gazed at the empty space in front of her on the table. The tables were made out of a very pretty dark wood and smoothed down nicely; they had a modern, yet cabin-like feel to them. "I miss my mom."

Armin breathed a chuckle. "I think we all do."

"I know I do," Rosalya murmured as she sat down, a sad expression on her face, "I would give anything to be home again. I miss Leigh too."

Armin gazed at her mischievously. "It must be tough," he teased, "Going a whole seven days without your boyfriend."

Rosalya rolled her eyes at him. "If the situation wasn't so serious, it wouldn't be a big deal. Trust me, I would rather spend the night next to him than spend the night worrying for my life."

Armin's playful expression faded and he nodded solemnly. The others gathered around the table one by one and took their seats quietly. Linnea examined their expressions. They all appeared distressed, as if they hadn't slept in a long time, with dark circles ringing their eyes and they all appeared wrecked with anxiety. Nathaniel's fingernails were nibbled to the nubs, Castiel's lips were bleeding as he continued to pick at them with his teeth, Kentin's hair was much thinner than before, Rosalya's eyes were constantly red. Armin was good at hiding it, but Linnea knew he felt it too. All of them were constantly wondering and worrying about who was next.

Linnea gazed down at her hands on the table in front of her, a small smile pinching up the corners of her lips. "I remember last semester," she murmured, "When we had exams, and we studied together for the math exam. We all looked at our study guides and Armin was like 'What even is a hyperbola?'" The smile on her lips grew. "All of us were so anxious. I always thought it was funny how Nathaniel would get the most nervous but he always did the best. It's almost like the education system is designed so that the worse you feel, the better you do." Her smile faded. "The morning before the exam, I met up with Violette and she was crying. She didn't want me to tell you guys about this but it doesn't matter now. She gave me the tightest hug she could muster and she kept saying things like 'I can't do this anymore', 'This is the end for me'. She was really scaring me. I was going to skip school and miss my exams so that I could cheer her up. When I was least expecting it, she said 'I forgot how to graph an ellipse'."

The group all began to giggle and their giggles eased into laughter. Linnea smiled as she watched them let loose and laugh. The joke wasn't as funny as they made it seem but she knew it felt good to laugh. They could hardly manage to smile up until now.

Linnea got to her feet. "I'm going to go to the bathroom," she told them but they were all still laughing to hard to notice her as she slipped out of the cafeteria.


	11. Confessions

Violette gazed at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were dark and droopy from exhaustion; she hadn't slept a wink the night before. She had been questioned countless times and she had been seeing a therapist for her post-traumatic stress disorder. She never completely opened up about what had truly happened in the woods; she was terrified of being called crazy. Even she, herself, was beginning to wonder if what happened was what really happened or if she had hallucinated it.

It was the first day that Violette was attending school again since before the incident. She hadn't been in contact with the others so she wasn't sure how they were doing or if they had been attending school as usual, but it had been a week off for her. She took a deep breath and turned away from her reflection, lifting her bag over her shoulder and waving goodbye to her parents.

"Are you sure you want to go, Vi?" her mother asked from her seat on the couch, coffee mug in hand, "No one would blame you if you took another day off. You look exhausted."

Violette simply shrugged, her gaze falling to her feet. "I have to go eventually if I want to graduate on time."

Violette felt as if she were sleep walking her entire trek to school, her feet dragging against the pavement and she struggled to keep her eyes open. The air was still and the hot sun was beating down on her. She felt relieved when she arrived at school so that she could get out of the heat. Ever since they returned from their camping trip, the sun was out and the sky was always blue; almost like they were carrying an omen around with them until now.

Even the hallways seemed quieter and more lifeless than usual. She gazed around at all her classmates and her gaze caught Castiel's, standing beside Lysander. Both of them were quiet, gazing at their feet, and she considered approaching them but wasn't sure she could manage to form any rational phrases just yet. She maneuvered her way through the crowds of people to her class and she entered, her gaze gluing to the sight of the empty desk between hers and Nathaniel's. She could feel every eye on her; she hadn't been to school in two weeks, of course. Nathaniel was too busy writing on a sheet of paper that looked like homework to notice her arrival.

Violette sat in her desk, taking a deep breath to cool the anxiety welling up inside her. "Nathaniel," she mumbled, "have you been coming to school?" He nodded once without turning his head towards her. "Has there… been any news?" He shook his head and her gaze fell to her hands in her lap.

Anxiety felt like someone was setting fire to her insides and she didn't know how to put it out. Her palms grew sweaty and shaky and her breathing was increasing; she couldn't manage to relax. Maybe going to school wasn't such a good idea, she decided but it was too late to turn back when the bell rang.

Her anxiousness only increased when she heard her teacher's voice. "It's good to see you again, Violette. Did you decide you felt like graduating?" She struggled to resist the overwhelming urge to give him the most aggravated eye roll she could muster. "You're behind on quite a bit of work. Let's talk after class, okay?"  
Her gaze fell back to her lap and a few moments later, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned towards it and Nathaniel handed her his notebook, flipped to an empty page that only said _'__Are you okay?'_ She wrote back, _'__I guess. I don't know. I'm surviving. Are you okay?'_

He eyed her before writing on the page again and sliding it back to her. It read,_ '__I'm seeing a therapist for PTSD. Does that answer your question?'_ She wrote,_ '__Me too. I wish she was still here. It would be so much easier to cope.'_

Class ended and Violette was sure everything taught had gone through one ear and out the other. She approached the teacher's desk after all the students began filtering out of the room after the bell. "It's been quite a while, Violette," he told her, "I've never pegged you as one to skip school."  
Violette furrowed her brow. "I was away for medical reasons. I showed the attendance office a doctor's note."

The teacher shrugged, flicking his wrist. "Medical shmedical. The best medicine is to keep trying your best and not create more problems for yourself by skipping."

Violette's hands clenched to fists. "So you're implying that I would heal better by repressing my emotions and putting myself in a stressful environment instead of seeing a doctor and taking time to focus on myself?"

"I'm trying to help you," he insisted before lifting up a stack of papers and handing them to her, "Here's all your late work. Try to get them in within the next week, alright?"

Violette sighed, giving him a nod before taking slow steps with her heavy feet out of the room. She felt burning regret at her coming to school as she made her way through the crowds of people towards her next class. She lifted her gaze and found the whole group of her friends from the trip standing in a semi-circle, gazing at her expectantly. She approached, clutching the papers to her chest. "Has anyone heard anything?" she asked, her voice soft and cracking a bit.

Their expressions gave her the only answer she needed and her gaze fell to her feet. "Violette," Rosalya murmured, "maybe coming to school today wasn't such a good idea."

Violette rolled her eyes. "You don't have to tell me twice. Have you all been coming normally?"

"No, only Nathaniel," Armin answered her, "Most of us missed a couple days." He clenched his hand into a fist. "I… feel so guilty. If we had paid more attention, she wouldn't have disappeared on us."

Violette's gaze moved slowly from Peggy to Kentin then to Lysander and the three of them had their concerned gazes on their feet. "Violette?" The voice behind her made her jump and she turned to find Principal Shermansky standing there. "Will you please come with me?"

Violette followed her to her office, where her mother, her lawyer, and two police officers stood, waiting. "Please have a seat," the officer asked and she obeyed. "One last time, could you recap what you know?"

Violette gave an exasperated sigh. "I don't remember that much. I was at the camp with my friends and then all of the sudden, I wake up and I'm in a box tied up. I think I was underground because there was a straw from a hole in the box. I kept shifting from conscious to unconscious and I don't know how long I was in there. Then I woke up again and I was out of there."

"So you haven't had contact with Linnea Larsson since before the incident?" the officer asked.

Violette nodded. "That's right."

They asked a few more standard questions before releasing her. She stepped into the empty, quiet hallway and sighed; she'd missed the late bell. Being tardy wasn't quite her number one issue though, she thought to herself as she walked slowly through the hall. She stopped at the bathroom and set her bag on the ground, stuffing in the papers her teacher had given her before gazing at her reflection in the mirror. She looked like a stranger; her normally glowing skin was pale and gray and her eyes were dark and lifeless. She looked like a ghost. She heaved a sigh, turning on the sink and rubbing the water on to her face. When her gaze returned to the mirror, she looked a bit better after washing her face and some color had returned. She dried off with a paper towel and tossed it in the garbage.

"Violette."

Violette stiffened. She knew that voice like the back of her hand, considering it was the one she heard most over the last few years. Her heart raced in her chest and she turned slowly, hopefully, praying that her thoughts were true. What she saw wasn't what she expected.

Linnea stood there, her blonde locks matted in brown and red, covering most of her face, which also had red stains. Her face was covered in scars and bruises and her blue eyes were black.

"Tell them what I did to you."

Linnea's sweet voice was such a contrast to what Violette was seeing. She rubbed her eyes but the image didn't disappear, not until her eyes filled with tears and she sank to the floor, letting out the most powerful scream her lungs could muster, echoing in the bathroom.

It wasn't long before Principal Shermansky rushed in, the two officers from her office following behind. She couldn't hear anything but the sound of her heart pounding through to her ears and she could feel them putting their hands on her shoulders and attempting to calm her down. Eventually, the noise in her ears cleared and she could hear them calling her name.

"Violette," one of the officers barked, "Can you hear me, Violette?" Violette managed to nod and all three of them sighed in relief. "How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked, holding his hand up.

"Two," Violette answered softly, just barely making out the shape of his fingers through her tears.

"Go home, Violette," Principal Shermansky told her, her voice concerned, "Your mother is still in my office."

Violette nodded slowly. "Before I go," she murmured, gazing at her feet, "I have to admit something. I lied to you. I did see Linn since we got to the camp." They all gazed at her curiously. "She had black eyes and superhuman strength. She didn't say a word while she tied me up and buried me alive."


End file.
